‘It was an old shed but there was blood on the walls and people loved it’ – Moneyfields ABC coach Colin Hooker on the loss of ‘a proper gym’

Based out of the old rifle range at the back of the football club’s main pitch, after being formed in 1997, the gym could not have been further away from the description of fancy.

Whether it was walls with blood splatterings on them, or the smell of sweat that greeted those who entered, state-of-the-art it certainly wasn't.

But that didn't bother those who represented the club out of the training base down the years … well, at least according to Moneyfields coach Colin Hooker.

In fact, Hooker, who is currently in his second stint at the club, believes a part of Moneyfields ABC went the day they finally said goodbye to their long-standing base with the building to be replaced by homes as part of the £3.5m development.

And even if the club returns to the site when work is finally complete - they currently have no written agreement confirmed - Hooker says they'd never be able to create the same feeling in a swanky new environment.

Hooker, one of five Moneyfields coaches alongside Graham Thomson, Tony Knowles, Joby Linn and Lloyd Johnson, said: ‘To be honest, the gym was an old shed but people loved coming into it because it was a proper gym.

‘You’d go in there and it would smell of sweat, you could see hard work had been done in there, there was blood up the walls - it was a proper gym.

‘It won’t be the same.

‘All the best gyms I’ve been in are old spit and sawdust gyms.

‘When I was in the cadets we used to train under the clock tower in a basement thing and it was proper old.

'You get an atmosphere and you’ve got to make that atmosphere for it to work.

‘It’s the old gyms like that - there aren’t many gyms like that now, old school gyms.

‘It’s always been a family type club.

‘We were going back in there up until the last lockdown.

'When we cleared it out it was quite sad, we took pictures and took video.'

Moneyfields ABC saw some top fighters come through the doors of the old gym.

Both brothers Mikey McKinson, now 20-0 in the professional ranks, and Lucas Ballingall, recently beaten in an English lightweight title bout, represented the club as amateurs.

Portsmouth's Josh Pritchard came through at Moneyfields ABC and was 5-0 as a pro before he was forced to retire after a brain scan revealed a potential risk.

Meanwhile, highly-rated Joseph Butler, signed to McGuigan's Gym and 3-0 as a professional, won a national title as an amateur with Moneyfields.

But while Hooker loves to see youngsters go on to reach the heights, it's putting troubled youths on the right path through boxing which also provides great satisfaction.

He said: 'We coached Mikey and Lucas up until they turned pro, the same as Joseph - Joseph won the NABC class-B Championships up in Bristol at 52kg.

‘I’ve really enjoyed it (time at Moneyfields).

‘There’s a great group of coaches. The training is hard and strict, we’ve had good results; they all want champions but we’re lucky enough we’ve had a lot of kids who’ve got to championship level and we’ve changed a lot of kids' lives.

‘It’s not only about getting champions, it’s a bonus, but if you get kids and you can keep them out of trouble and give them a bit of discipline and self-belief.

‘Some kids come in and they can hardly talk and by the end of it they’re quite chirpy.'

The building works should not signal the end for Moneyfields ABC - at least that's what Hooker is hoping.

The club have continued training on public fields since lockdown restrictions were eased in late March.

Hooker says the turnout has remained good, despite not having a gym.

But now an agreement has been reached for Moneyfields ABC to train at Portsmouth Stacey ABC while Dover Road redevelopment work is ongoing.

The hope for Hooker is to then eventually move back onto their original site once the multi-million pound project is complete.

He explained: 'We’ve got nothing in writing to say we’ll be going back.

‘Who’s to know they’re not going to invite someone else in there?

'I’m not 100 per cent sure (about a return).

'When we went over to Portsmouth Stacey they asked us to change the name, but we want to keep what we’ve got.

‘We worked long and hard to get a good reputation at Moneyfields and I don’t really want to throw that away.

‘But if someone else went into Moneyfields then we’d probably have to change our name.

‘Joby (Linn) did a video when we left there and it was choking me up because we’ve had so many good times.'